Saturday, December 21, 2013

We want to be clear that in the great Streetcar debate, John Cranley Christopher Smitherman, Amy Murray and Charlie Winburn held firm, and fulfilled their campaign promises.

We say this because there was all sorts of flip-flopping and back-stabbing on the Streetcar issue in the weeks since the election, but these four were steadfast in their opposition to this boondoggle.

After the Council vote on Thursday, Mayor Cranley was simply recognizing reality when he said "there will be a streetcar," and he did not choose to veto the 6-3 veto-proof vote. But he did what he promised to do not he campaign trail -- to consistently oppose this wasteful spending.

We thank these four elected officials for remaining steadfast in an aggressive political environment.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Tuesday, December 18, 2013

The Responsible Bidder ordinance passed on May 1, 2013 is bad public policy. City Council is attempting to direct the Hamilton County Commissioners to require the implementation of an unconstitutional policy on the construction project managed by MSD. The MSD project is valued at $3.5 billion. The majority of MSD work has been haulted by all three County Commissioners. The Responsible Bidder ordinance that was passed May 1st is unconstitutional. All costs related to the Responsible Bidder ordinance will be passed on to all rate payers. "The streetcar debate is important but the Responsible Bidder ordinance is eight times the value of the streetcar. The ordinance will be challenged in court and the City Council will illustrate again its unwilllingness to have a good relationship with our county partners," Smitherman said.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Last week, Mayor John Cranley, flanked by new Council member
Kevin Flynn and representatives of the City’s labor unions, and with the
announced support of new Council member David Mann, announced that he was considering supporting the Streetcar project if the operating costs for thirty
years could be raised from private funds.

It’s a reasonable proposition, because – on the one hand –
without such commitments, City taxpayers invariably will be saddled with these
expenses that will eat into available funds for police, fire and road
maintenance.On the other hand, if they
can in fact raise the funds, the economics of streetcar operations are
significantly improved from the taxpayer perspective – at least as it relates
to Phase I of the project.

Cranley estimated the costs would be $80 million for that
30-year stretch.COAST believes that
number is low.But let’s assume it is correct.What is the track
record of private industry supporting the Streetcar project with their own
checkbooks?Not good; not good at all.

COASTers may remember that back in 2009, we exposed the
folly and fiction of claimed massive private support for the Streetcar. Read here and here.

When the Streetcar project was first announced in 2007, we
were told the City’s share of the capital expense for Phase 1 would be $32
million, and every nickel of it would come from private contributions (sound
familiar?).Thus, voters and the Council
were initially lulled into pursuing the Streetcar on the promise of a shiny new
toy that was absolutely without local budgetary consequence.

Then, Mayor Mallory and Milton Dohoney set about with
marketing materials, and City staff, for an entire year.They sent mailings and set personal meetings
with corporate titans in Cincinnati.And
these powerful men put their entire credibility behind fundraising for the
project.

And after an entire year of beating the bushes they raised
how much?Nada, Nothing.Goose egg. Zilch.Zip.

Shortly after the close of the year, a young couple asked
their wedding guests to donate to the Streetcar instead of giving the gifts,
raising a whopping $2,935.In addition,
the City sold their light fixtures to Duke Energy, generating a few million
dollars more.Other than these
contributions, the City fundraising failed entirely.

So, comparing this experience to the present circumstances,
wherein we need $80 million raised in a week, it looks shall, we say, unlikely
that private funds will be raised to pay for the failed dream of Roxanne Qualls
and her departed ilk.

COAST Member Rob Hudson and his 13 year old daughter Lauren have authored a new book for students entitled Our Best Tomorrow – Students Teaching Capitalism to America. It recently became an Amazon #1 Bestseller for Current Affairs books and for Free Enterprise books. The book has been featured on The Stossel Show, Fox and Friends, Stuart Varney & Company, and Money with Melissa Francis. As the book succeeds, the Hudsons intend to use it as a platform to further public school education on free enterprise. For more information, here is a link to the book’s Amazon page.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A poor city subsidizes 20 years of failure

. . . and the lessons Cincinnati can learn before it's too late!

From Michigan Capitol Confidential:

The Detroit People Mover, a light rail transportation system, celebrated its 20th birthday in July. More than a year before People Mover opened in 1987, Time magazine printed an unflattering preview of the coming attraction titled "Horizontal Elevator to Nowhere." Estimating the project to be a year late and 50 percent over budget, Time detailed numerous defects and problems, with the most notable mistake being the decision to build it at all. One Detroit resident was quoted as saying that it was "a rich folks’ roller coaster," and a Reagan administration transit chief predicted that it could become "the least cost-effective transit project in the last 20 years." The People Mover has repeatedly revisited these themes as if they were stations on its tiny circuit.

It looks like Cincinnati is on the verge of doing the right thing in canceling the Streetcar project. Let's hope we don't insist on repeating Detroit's Folly!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Unfortunately, all too often, elected officials prefer to ignore the will of the people. Not so with Cincinnati's Mayor and City Council.

COAST believes it is important to hold politicians accountable, and that it is equally important to thank them when they do the right thing.

No doubt over the next four years we will find plenty of reasons to disagree with City Council. But today, we are grateful for their leadership and integrity.

In that vein. We encourage you to use the links below to email Mayor Cranley, Vice Mayor Mann and council members Flynn, Murray, Smitherman and Winburn to thank them for standing firm and coming through on their commitment to stop the streetcar.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

With the end of the year fast approaching, one of the issues
on the agenda for Congress is tax reform and how to whittle down unnecessary
government spending. For us Ohioans, the
federal wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) is the perfect example of the kind of expensive,
wasteful policy that lawmakers need to end once and for all. The PTC should expire at the end of 2013 as
scheduled.

The PTC is a 2.3 cent per kilowatt-hour tax credit that was
originally created as part of the 1992 Energy Policy Act to make wind a viable and
competitive energy source. Given that
wind currently produces 43 times more electricity than it did in 1990, and that
there is over 60,000 MW of wind capacity in 38 states—enough to power over 13
million homes—it seems pretty clear to us that the PTC has done its job.

In addition, a recent analysis by the Joint Committee on
Taxation shows that extending the PTC for a single year would cost taxpayers a
whopping $6 billion. And even if it were
to expire at the end of this year, taxpayers are still stuck paying $12 billion
for its 2013 extension. At a time where
the federal government is struggling to pay its bills and facing record
deficits, it’s clear that Americans and Ohioans should no longer have to foot
the bill for this outdated subsidy.

Not to mention, Ohio has one of the largest renewable
portfolio standards in the country, requiring that 12.5% of the state’s
electricity needs be met with renewable resources. These standards are already driving the
growth of renewable energy in the state, and will continue to do so regardless
of the PTC.

To add insult to injury, wind energy is distorting power
markets all over the country. The PTC
motivates wind developers to build wind farms with no regard for market demand. As long as they’re selling power, they’re collecting
the subsidy. And alarmingly, the PTC is
creating an incentive for wind producers to actually pay the market to take
their generation when it’s not needed. Because
the PTC is worth more per MWh than the average wholesale price of power, wind
generators will pay their customers to take their power in order to collect the
subsidy. This creates a phenomenon
called “negative pricing” which hurts conventional generators that have to keep
the lights on without the benefit of an exorbitant subsidy.

The bottom line is that it’s time for the government to stop
picking energy winners and losers. Congress
should allow the PTC to expire at the end of the year once and for all.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

From theBalanced Budget Task ForceLEESBURG, Virginia (November 20, 2013) - Today, the Ohio General Assembly answered Governor John Kasich's call to action by passing a resolution, with bipartisan support, demanding that Congress set the time and place for a Convention of the States to draft a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Article V of the Constitution provides both Congress and the states with equal authority to propose an amendment. Under Article V. of the U.S. Constitution thirty-four states need to pass a similar resolution to initiate a convention for the sole purpose of drafting a balanced budget amendment.

The total U.S. debt has increased every year since 1957. Now, only 12 countries out of world's 196 have a higher debt to G.D.P. ratio than does the U.S. (102%). Among these are Greece - 157%, Zimbabwe-151%, Jamaica-146%, Italy-127% and Portugal -124%.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen stated, "I've said many times that I believe the single, biggest threat to our national security is our debt."Read more here.

Friday, November 15, 2013

As is our annual tradition, we invite all COASTers and non-COASTers alike to join us to celebrate Christmas on Monday, December 16th at DeSha's in Montgomery.

Last year's event featured city council members, township trustees, county commissioners, state representatives and senators and the newest member of of Congressional Delegation, Lt. Col. Dr. (and now new father) Congressman Brad Wenstrup. We hope for an equally star-studded crowd this year as well.

Please join us as we celebrate the season and recount our successes of the year now nearly gone.

So many times politics is dominated by money. Other times it is driven by powerful forces like union organizers or racial politics. And still others, it is driven by the politics of personal destruction.

But in some years, reason triumphs over all of these. Such was the case in 2013.

As much as Roxanne Qualls tried to ignore both, the Mayoral election election was decided by two issues: the Cincinnati Streetcar and an epic political and policy disaster -- the Parking Plot. And Laure Quinlivan and Pamula Thomas joined her in driving their political careers into the ground on the twin pillars of policy folly.

All year long, COASTers asked: How much pain can they endure? How tone deaf can they be? We even wondered if our political instincts might be askew as these experienced politicians persisted in pursuing the most politically reckless strategies in event memory. Then, in the closing days of the campaign, they rubbed salt in the wounds they first opened with the voters by installing streetcar lines and pushing forward the parking bond deal, forcing both unpopular issues into the headlines at just the right time for the challengers.

More than ever before in COAST's memory, a Mayoral race and a Council race were about issues that defined the candidates, defined their character, defined their hubris, defined their refusal to listen to their own voters and defined their political philosophies. The Streetcar and Parking Plot were on the lips of common voters, businessmen and opinion leaders. Across the City, voters asked the candidates and one another: Why won't you listen to us? Candidates, like Qualls and Quinlivan, who enjoyed significant levels of personal popularity saw their support evaporate as they relentlessly and senselessly pursued these unpopular policies.

COAST is grateful that the issues of the day dominated the election. So, in addition to just having better personnel in the Mayor's office and on Council, those elected have a mandate to rein in reckless spending at City Hall, starting with killing the Streetcar and the Parking Plot.

Cincinnati, a bight new day has dawned. Let's now move forward together.

Cranley enjoys the support of the Green Party, Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Fire Fighters and Save Cincinnati. While Qualls has only one endorsement listed.

Also, though not noted by the blog, Murray and Cranley were both endorsed by the Enquirer.

The seven candidates with the most endorsements all oppose the streetcar, and the top eight all oppose the Parking Plot. Makes you think the reason all those incumbents are avoiding talking about their records is because they know the voters hate those records.

We look forward to comparing the endorsement rankings to to final results tomorrow night.

Our loyal COAST blog readers will remember that earlier this year, union goons, establishment Democrats and other members of the far left column attempted to mount a coup to remove Christopher Smitherman as President of the Cincinnati NAACP.

That effort was a dramatic failure in part because of Smitherman's powerful grass roots organizing skills, and in part because Smitherman's credentials in advancing the cause of African Americans in Cincinnati was indisputable.

That effort was led by Rob Richardson, Sr. and Rob Richardson, Jr., the latter of which hosts a talk show on Cincinnati's WDBZ radio station and is the attorney for Cincinnati's Labor Council that is behind the Qualified Bidder ordinance that has brought MSD projects to a screeching halt.

Well, Richardson and his union thugs have now cooked up campaign literature and radio commercials aimed at the African American Community. With huge radio buys, accentuated by talk show hosts with malevolent intentions, Smitherman has endured a withering set of attacks since the middle of last week, which will endure through election day, tomorrow.

COAST thanks Smitherman for his leadership, courage and hard work in advancing a fiscally conservative agenda on Cincinnati City Council. We are confident he will once again survive this attack on his integrity and record.

See here how Christopher Smitherman exposes the persons behind the ad.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Forbes reports that the International Monetary Fund is laying the groundwork for a global 10% Wealth Tax. Not an income tax...A Wealth Tax. Own property? Savings accounts? IRAs 401(k)s?If you were foolish enough to save and invest for your retirement well... Hello Sucker!

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) quietly dropped a bomb in its October Fiscal Monitor Report. Titled “Taxing Times,” the report paints a dire picture for advanced economies with high debts that fail to aggressively “mobilize domestic revenue.” It goes on to build a case for drastic measures and recommends a series of escalating income and consumption tax increases culminating in the direct confiscation of assets.

Note three takeaways. First, IMF economists know there are not enough rich people to fund today’s governments even if 100 percent of the assets of the 1 percent were expropriated. That means that all households with positive net wealth—everyone with retirement savings or home equity—would have their assets plundered under the IMF’s formulation.

Second, such a repudiation of private property will not pay off Western governments’ debts or fund budgets going forward. It will merely “restore debt sustainability,” allowing free-spending sovereigns to keep tapping the bond markets until the next crisis comes along—for which stronger measures will be required, of course.

Third, should politicians fail to muster the courage to engage in this kind of wholesale robbery, the only alternative scenario the IMF posits is public debt repudiation and hyperinflation. Structural reform proposals for the Ponzi-scheme entitlement programs that are bankrupting us are nowhere to be seen.

As President Obama himself noted, "If you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters, If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from."

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

WCPO's Kevin Osborne uncovers questions regarding Roxanne Qualls' work as a real estate agent, specifically selling properties along the Streetcar route allowing her to profit from her votes on Council.

Recall that when John Cranley and Chris Bortz faced conflicts between their public duties and their private businesses, they requested Ethics Opinions from the Ohio Elections Commission. Thus far, Roxanne has not requested an opinion on the Ethics or legality of her actions.

Rarely does a candidate's experience, skills and passion directly align with the office sought. We are excited to announce that Kim Grant is perfectly suited for a position on the Kings School Board.

Kim Grant has been a tireless advocate for children as a teacher, mother and activist.

Kim's dedication to excellence in education with a commitment to taxpayer value means that parents in the Kings Schools will know that their children will enter an school environment of learning and safety.

Taxpayers will be certain that Kim will keep an eagle eye on the budget and will sound the alarm at the first sight of misplaced priorities and budget irregularities.

We heartily endorse Kim Grant for Kings Schools and invite district voters to learn more about Kim Grant here.

Monday, October 21, 2013

On Monday, October 14th,
the following email (pasted below) was sent to a business owner on Beechmont
Ave by the President of the Anderson Newtown Democratic Party President, Bonnie
Dunkelman. This business owner made a choice to support Josh Gerth & Andrew
Pappas for Trustee and when a John Piehowicz sign showed up twice, the owner
sent a note to John asking that he refrain from placing any signs at their
location. Below is the email that was sent shortly after that email exchange.

The Anderson Township Republican Club strongly objects to this threatening
behavior to Anderson businesses. We support all businesses in Anderson
Township including those that may choose to show support for opponents of
our Republican candidates. The Anderson Township Republican Club will not
threaten our neighbors and we reject these type of tactics against our local
business community.

Thanks, Mike Jordan Vice President Anderson
Township Republican Club

Message from Bonnie Dunkelman:

From: Bonnie Dunkelman

Sent: Monday, October 14, 2013 11:39 AM

To: Redacted to protect business owner
from further exposure

Subject: A concern regarding your
property

Hello. I am writing
with a concern. This is in regard to your request that Dr. John Piehowicz
refrain from placing signs on the property you manage in Anderson. I just
want to check with you to be certain that you contact all candidates that have
signs on all of your properties. If there is a company wide policy that
no signs are permitted on any property owned by your company, that
is fine. I actually wish all businesses would adopt such a policy. Please
be aware that this sign was placed without Dr. Piehowicz's knowledge.

However, if you continue to
permit signs favoring the other candidates to be on display, you
leave me no choice but to ask the 300 Anderson residents on my email distribution
lists to kindly boycott any business located in a plaza or shopping
center owned or managed by XXXXXX. In fairness to those businesses,
we will contact their owners to explain why they are being boycotted. I
was actually planning to get a XXXXXX this afternoon at
the XXXXXX in the plaza you manage. Fortunately, there are many
other XXXXXX in Anderson I can choose to visit.

Thank you for understanding the
importance of having a policy that respects everybody on an equal
basis. For future consideration, you should be aware that 37% of Anderson
Twp voted for President Obama in 2012.

Monday, October 14, 2013

COAST seeks out and supports candidates who fight for limited and open government and lower taxes.

Thus we are pleased to announce our support for the following candidates:

Andrew Pappas and Josh Gerth for Anderson Township Trustee. This race is for two seats and we heartily encourage all Anderson Township voters to support Pappas and Gerth. You can contribute to the Pappas and Gerth campaigns here and here.

Michael Harlow for Northwest Schools. We encourage the voters of Colerain, Green, Ross and Springfield Townships to vote Harlow for School Board. Contribute to Michael's campaign here.

Justin Binik-Thomas for Deer Park Schools. Justin, running for an open seat on the Deer Park School Board, has a long history of conservative activism. He will be a welcome addition to Deer Park's Schools.

COAST will release endorsements in Cincinnati Council and other races in the coming days.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

There are two competing theories as to how Cincinnati's fall Mayoral and Council election will play out this year.

One line of thinking holds that the City has elected the current Mayor and Council, and indeed shored up the liberal wing of Council with the 2011 elections, and thus the 2013 elections will be more of the same. Add to that thesis the fact that with added resources and name identification, most incumbents will be returned to office.

The other line of thinking holds that 2013 will be a year of change for Council and the Mayorship. This is so for several reasons, including the fact that Mayor Mallory is term-limited and there is one open seat on Council. But, mostly, the compelling issues of the Cincinnati Streetcar and the Parking Plot, seem to be motivating voters to look for new candidates. Add to that the insolvency of the Cincinnati pension the annually structurally-imbalanced budgets. Finally, there are uniquely-qualified non-incumbents with good name identification and strong campaigns underway, including Amy Murray, Kevin Flynn, Melissa Wegman and David Mann. Together, these factors present a unique and compelling formulation for change.

The reality will likely end up somewhere in between these two views. One, two or three non-incumbents will make it on Council, but the views of those non-incumbents on the Streetcar and Parking Plot, and the view of the new Mayor on those same issues, will color the direction of Cincinnati for the coming four to eight years. It would be a stunning rebuke of Mayor Mallory, for example, if an anti-Streetcar Mayor and just two anti-Streetcar non-incumbents ascended to Council.

Instructive in this debate will be the endorsements emanating from the Enquirer, the unions, COAST and others. For example, the post below reciting the 2013 Green Party endorsements is telling. That certainly left-leaning group endorsed Cranley for Mayor, and reformer incumbent Christopher Smitherman. They endorsed Republicans Amy Murray and Melissa Wegman, and Charterite Kevin Flynn. The Fraternal Order of Police and Cincinnati Firefighter unions have similarly endorsed reform slates.

Ultimately, of course, it is up to the voters and with that subject to the composition and size of the turnout what direction Cincinnati will take, but as for us we read the tea leaves as trending in 2013 towards much-needed change at City Hall.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

The Hamilton County Green Party has endorsed Chris Smitherman
for Cincinnati City Council, just like we did back in 2011. Councilman
Smitherman has been outvoted most of the time in the past 2 years so we are
also suggesting a vote for other candidates who can improve our chances of getting
the correct “things” done and decreasing the chances of the wrong “things”
passing. The candidates we suggest you consider voting for are: Cincinnati City Council

Independents: Chris
Smitherman & Angela Beamon

Charter: Vanessa White
& Kevin Flynn

Republicans: Amy Murray
& Melissa Wegman

Democrats: David Mann
& PG Sittenfeld

For mayor: John Cranley

You can vote for up to 9 candidates for City Council, but the fewer
people you vote for, the more powerful each vote becomes.

In choosing this list of candidates, the Green Party is most concerned
about the financial future of Cincinnati if the City goes bankrupt we could
lose our parks and other physical assets as well as lose all city funded
programs that matter to us.

- Our biggest looming debt/concern is the over $850 million
shortfall in the funding of the Cincinnati pension fund (but we suggest a NO
vote on Issue 4 in November 2013.)

- We remain concerned about the financial games being played and
the money being wasted to build the short OTR section of the streetcar and know
that this little section will likely be the only section ever built (since
there is no possibility of federal or state funding and the city doesn’t have
the money for it either), so it is just a waste of money and will give real
mass transit a bad name plus will financially hurt the bus system.

- We think that the city’s parking system can best be managed by the
City employees without sending a huge cut of the profits from parking to the
Port Authority &/or other outside investors.

- The Democrats who have been running Cincinnati for the past
generation have tried to bring us the “trash tax,” red light cameras to produce
revenue, to transfer our police department services to the County and in
general have been supporting the sale of public assets &/or privatizing
public services.

The Green Party has been working with the NAACP, COAST and other groups
to prevent these negative actions from taking place over the past several
years. The candidates we suggest have shown the best record for opposing
these actions and will give our best chance to take positive actions to secure
the financial future of Cincinnati.

Mission & Purpose

COAST exists to limit the rate of taxes and spending at the federal, state, and local level to within the rate of inflation and to stop the abuse of power by government officials.

COAST advances this cause by consistent and principled adherence to limited government and lower taxes in fighting legislation and ballot initiatives that increase taxes and spending beyond the rate of inflation, and by supporting candidates for public office who advance these principles.